Description
Book SynopsisIn Better Must Come, Matthew D. Marr reveals how social contexts at various levels combine and interact to shape the experiences of transitional housing program users in two of the most prosperous cities of the global economy, Los Angeles and Tokyo. Marr, who has conducted fieldwork in U.S. and Japanese cities for over two decades, followed the experiences of thirty-four people as they made use of transitional housing services and after they left such programs. This comparative ethnography is groundbreaking in two waysit is the first book to directly focus on exits from homelessness in American or Japanese cities, and it is the first targeted comparison of homelessness in two global cities.Marr argues that homelessness should be understood primarily as a socially generated, traumatic, and stigmatizing predicament, rather than as a stable condition, identity, or culture. He pushes for movement away from the study of homeless people and homeless culture toward an understanding
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In this comparative analysis of how homeless people escape homelessness in Los Angeles and Tokyo, Marr instead focuses on the decisive role of such contextual factors as social ties with family, friends, or program staff as well as access to mainstream labor markets and subsidized housing. Marrs perspective provides important lessons about why some people are able to exit homelessness and others remain homeless for years on end.Summing Up:Recommended.
-- E.L. Hirsch * Choice *
Through analysis of multiple exit stories, Marr's work not only identifies a myriad of social, structural, and systemic obstacles that complicate transition out of homelessness, but also shines a light on the contextual conditions that facilitate pathways to greater socio-economic security.... Marr’s work is valuable for the advances it makes in delineating the ways in which neoliberalism, welfare systems, labor markets, support programs, social attitudes, and civic, private, and public sector actors interact at two distinct urban points in the global picture of homelessness. Moreover, his work retains a crisp focus on the interplay between structural and social influences at multiple levels and how these shape long-term trajectories—and possibilities for exit—in individual lives.... In Better Must Come, Marr does not shy from challenging widely-held perceptions of homelessness. He advances a rigorous and graceful analysis of conditions in both cities using clear language, well-defined terms, and concise organization that together render the subject accessible to a wide range of readers, regardless of familiarity with homelessness or related policy in Japan or the US. At the same time, it is a sharp academic work that will interest scholars, policymakers, and practitioners alike.
-- Rayna Rusenko * City and Society *
Marr challenges the popular image of homelessness as a stable condition or identity by skillfilly examining exit processes over a range of social contexts at multiple levels.... This book is a must read for academics and practitioners interested in ending homelessness and envisioning alternative wats that can tackles structural inequalities.
* Journal of Housing and the Built Environment *
Table of ContentsPrologue
AbbreviationsPart I. HOMELESSNESS AND GLOBAL CITIES
Exit Stories: Carlos and Takagi-san
Introduction
1. The Global and Local Origins of Homelessness in Los Angeles and TokyoPart II. EXITING HOMELESSNESS IN LOS ANGELES AND TOKYO: STATE AID AND MARKETS
Exit Stories: Michelle and Tsukada-san
2. Searching for State Aid
3. Searching for Work and HousingPart III. EXITING HOMELESSNESS IN LOS ANGELES AND TOKYO: SOCIAL TIES
Exit Stories: Venetia and Sawa-san
4. Ties with Organizational Staff
5. Ties with FamilyPart IV. ENDING HOMELESSNESS IN GLOBAL CITIES
Exit Story: Kobo
Conclusion: The Multilevel Contexts of Exiting HomelessnessNotes
References
Index
